5 things to watch for when the Seattle Seahawks play the Vikings

August 23, 2018 3:46 PM

GERMAIN IFEDI’S JOB AT RT NO LONGER SECURE

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said this week that George Fant, who’s getting closer to full strength from a torn ACL that sidelined him all off last year, will compete with Germain Ifedi at right tackle.

Ifedi, a 2016 first-round pick, led the NFL in penalties season and has been inconsistent in pass protection for Seattle.

Fant had been kept at left tackle until this week to battle with Ifedi. According to Carroll, that was the plan all along -- to wait until Fant got healthy.

Isaiah Battle is also in the mix at the position.

“The comp is on,” Carroll said Tuesday. “George (Fant) has had a, kind of a startling career really, to come so far so fast. There’s nothing that we put in front of him that he couldn’t handle. Even when you take a look at the rehab process that he went through, he had just totally competed and attacked it, and came back in great shape. So, this has been the thought all along, to get him back moving again, feeling comfortable with his left side and with the thought of him getting over there and competing on the right side.”

Carroll confirmed Thursday that the starters will see the most action of the preseason against the Vikings.

That’s usually the case with the third exhibition -- the first-team guys play a drive or two in the first preseason game, play most if not all the first half in the second one and play well into the second half in the third preseason game (Backups again see extended time in the fourth and final preseason contest).

So essentially, Friday’s game will be the best snapshot for the coaches and fans of what the Seahawks will look like this season.

“One of the things to do this week is to get our guys to play through the half and come out after halftime. … getting a shot to get that sense,” Carroll said. “Really just for the mentality and the conditioning part of playing through a couple quarters -- going back in, coming back out again.”

The offensive side of the ball is largely set for Seattle with the exception of (maybe) right tackle and a couple position battles, but several question marks still lurk on the defensive end.

The starting job at right cornerback is still wide open. And although Tedric Thompson and Bradley McDougald are the expected Week 1 starters at safety (as long as Earl Thomas holds out), McDougald won’t play Friday with an injury. That opens the door for guys like Maurice Alexander -- who signed with the Seahawks over the offseason -- to see more snaps.

“We know that we’re going to play majority of the snaps and we just got to keep progressing,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said Wednesday. “I think as long as we keep...

STARTERS WILL SEE MOST SNAPS OF PRESEASON
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CAN THE SEAHAWKS SHOW CONSISTENCY FINISHING DRIVES?

The Seahawks have been able to get down field early in the preseason.

Their issue has been finishing those scoring opportunities.

And Carroll said Thursday that completing those touchdown chances, when they get in the red zone, is one of the team’s biggest priorities in the third preseason game.

Most notably last week, the Seahawks opened the second quarter with a four-play, 72-yard drive to get to first-and-one before a Chris Carson run resulted in a touchback.

“You can’t win if you turn the ball over,” Carroll said. “If you do it in the red zone, it’s just doubling the impact of the game. … You can’t do anything worse than that for your club. Those are things we have to get through. I think, probably, the focus really is just red-zone touchdowns. We gotta get down an into the red zone. That’s real clear.”

CAN THE SEAHAWKS SHOW CONSISTENCY FINISHING DRIVES?
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C.J. PROSISE IS AT BAT AGAIN

Opportunity keeps presenting itself for C.J. Prosise. It first came last week: with first-round pick Rashaad Penny sitting out with a broken finger, the third-year tailback played in spurts throughout the second half to make his preseason debut against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Then Tuesday, news broke that J.D. McKissic -- another running back vying for minutes -- will be sidelined at least a month with an injury.

Prosise, a 2016 third-round pick, is believed to be a lock on the Seahawks’ 53-man roster if he can stay healthy and show any flashes of being a productive player in the backfield. Seattle’s depleted running back group only helps his cause for more snaps.

He had just three carries for 12 yards against the Chargers last Saturday, but saw some success as a pass catcher (six receptions, 35 yards). The biggest knock on the running back has been his health. He’s missed 21 regular-season games over his first two NFL seasons. Prosise also missed the preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts because of a hip flexor issue.

But Carroll said that he’s not limited any more and will see significant action against the Vikings.

“This is really just about consistency for him -- coming back and coming back and continuing to return to the playing field,” Carroll said. “We’re just excited to have him working in practice with us because it’s been so erratic over the time he’s been with us. So he’s going to play quite a bit.”

Added offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer: “(He’s a) very, very talented young man that we expect great things from this year. We know we can use him a lot of...

It gives David Moore, a wide receiver, the chance to showcase is his versatility.

Carroll said Thursday that Moore -- who hauled in that incredible 52-yard pass from Russell Wilson against Chargers last week -- is expected to return kicks against Minnesota.
Tyler Lockett, Chris Carson, Penny and Cyril Grayson Jr. have all seen time as a return in practice and/or preseason games on top of McKissic (Lockett, of course, is expected to see most returns during the season). But any success Moore has Friday in special teams could lock up his spot on the 53-man roster, if it hasn’t been already.

Moore had two catches for 71 yards against the Chargers.

“David has had a terrific first (few) games,” Carroll said. “But more than that, what he's doing on the practice field, he just continues to show up. … every day he makes plays. He’s been a real exciting play in this camp.”

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said this week that George Fant, who’s getting closer to full strength from a torn ACL that sidelined him all off last year, will compete with Germain Ifedi at right tackle.

Ifedi, a 2016 first-round pick, led the NFL in penalties season and has been inconsistent in pass protection for Seattle.

Fant had been kept at left tackle until this week to battle with Ifedi. According to Carroll, that was the plan all along -- to wait until Fant got healthy.

Isaiah Battle is also in the mix at the position.

“The comp is on,” Carroll said Tuesday. “George (Fant) has had a, kind of a startling career really, to come so far so fast. There’s nothing that we put in front of him that he couldn’t handle. Even when you take a look at the rehab process that he went through, he had just totally competed and attacked it, and came back in great shape. So, this has been the thought all along, to get him back moving again, feeling comfortable with his left side and with the thought of him getting over there and competing on the right side.”